Rain.

It's been raining for weeks here in NYC. We had a huge storm 3 weeks ago that knocked out power, caused trees to fall on homes and elsewhere, and flooded our basement for the first time in the 3 years we've lived here. Then it rained about a week later and again this week. Lots of rain. Lots of water in the basement. Ugh.

As I sludged home yesterday, I found myself thinking about what monsoon season must be like for people who live in certain countries. I had to go look it up on Wikipedia and learned that it's quite widespread- of course I've only ever heard about it related to India and Bangladesh. I'm curious what it's like for FSOs in these countries. 

And as I pumped water from the basement, I found myself thinking that if (when?) we move abroad, we will have so many issues to deal with that we don't right now in the land of plenty. Sure, maybe water in the basement will be someone else's responsibility. But I'll have bug infestations or intense weather patterns and certainly difficulty doing the most basic tasks that we take for granted here. I am amused that my one-track mind turns everything back to the Foreign Service. And I still want to join! Because living abroad is intense and exhilarating in a way that regular U.S. life just never is. And I love that intensity of experience.